Joint statement by the Rt. Hon. Tony Blair, MP, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and H.E. José Manuel Durão Barroso, Prime Minister of the Republic of Portugal.

26 February 2003

Three years ago, in the Portuguese capital, the leaders of the European Union set themselves an historic goal: to make the EU the most advanced, knowledge-based economy, in the world with high levels of employment and social protection, by 2010. The programme agreed at Lisbon has set the direction of Europe’s strategy for reform. This March, we will meet again to review our progress towards achieving it.

At the heart of this strategy lies the creation of some 15 million new jobs over the decade. These are needed if we are to rid our continent of unemployment, the misery, poverty and social exclusion it causes, and harness Europe’s true potential for growth. But after a promising start – and with over 2 million new jobs created since 2000 – Europe’s efforts are faltering. After years of decline, the unemployment rate is now increasing. And we still have far too many people – 3.3% of the entire EU workforce – who are long-term unemployed.

The European model of social protection aims to achieve the right balance between flexibility and security. We are about to reach that balance, by putting in place a comprehensive European framework of essential minimum standards of employment regulation and social protection to safeguard the core rights of employees in the modern workplace. Further action at the European level should concentrate on voluntary agreements and exchanges of good practice.

An effective, simplified and reformed Employment Strategy will be an important outcome of the Brussels Spring Council 2003, a part of the relaunch of the Lisbon Strategy.  But this may not be enough. We need to take urgent and immediate action at the highest political level to tackle Europe’s low employment levels to increase productivity and deepen the progress made since Lisbon.

Hence we propose that the European Council establishes a European Employment Taskforce. This would consist of a very small group of experts with a mandate to examine the reasons for the European low growth in employment and productivity.  They would be invited to set out the main ways by which member states could create more sustainable jobs. The aim will be to identify a small number of key measures which can be put into effect in the short term and start to have a positive impact on employment levels and growth within 12 months.  These measures should be consistent with a long-term vision for European labour markets where flexibility, security, mobility and knowledge are the key elements.

We are already taking action at national level. In the UK, a comprehensive overhaul of the tax and benefit system has provided new incentives to make work pay, and contributed to the lowest unemployment levels in a generation. In Portugal, the most ambitious overhaul of the national labour legislation since 1974 is underway as part of the Government’s programme of boosting job creation, promoting investment and increasing competitiveness. And our two Governments are working together to share experience and good practice, with a regular exchange of experts between Lisbon and London. These joint exchanges have underlined the importance of flexibility, adaptability, diversity in working patterns and care for the work/life balance as keys to the delivery of a more responsive and inclusive labour market.

So, in Brussels this March, let us refocus and reinvigorate our efforts to reform Europe’s economy, and demonstrate our political commitment to take the action necessary to reduce unemployment and improve sustainable growth and prosperity.  The knowledge-based economy envisaged in the Lisbon strategy demands both a well-equipped labour force and properly functioning labour markets.